ASU football's Bo Moos set for 1st career start

Junior DT looks to make most of his opportunity

Bo Moos didn't exactly sneak up on anybody. Because of injuries, he played the final two weeks of spring practice as a starter at defensive tackle.

During fall camp, the Arizona State junior was determined to push senior Saia Falahola for a starting spot, which he has done and more. Moos started to get first-team reps last week, and he's expected to make the first start of his career in Saturday's home game against Northern Arizona.

"I wanted to prove I could be a starter," Moos said after Thursday's practice. "I didn't just want to hold down that second spot. I wanted to push whoever was in front of me. I feel really good about it."

Moos played in just eight games last season, posting four tackles. But after Saturday's opening win, ASU coach Dennis Erickson called the Eugene, Ore., native a pleasant surprise.

"He's not flashy, but he's a tough son of a gun," he said.

At this point, this qualifies as a success story at defensive tackle. Injuries have hit the Sun Devils hard. Sophomores Corey Adams (knee) and Toa Tuitea (elbow) are expected to miss their second consecutive games. Freshman Lee Adams (knee) and Falahola (elbow) aren't 100 percent, and you can bet Erickson's heart skipped a beat when junior Lawrence Guy limped off after getting chop-blocked last week.

Guy, Falahola and Adams all have practiced and are expected to play, but ASU's depth at the position (losing sophomore William Sutton to academic issues was another blow) has become a problem, at least for now.

"We were just talking about that in meetings today," Moos said.

"To start camp, that's our strongest position group. And now it's our weakest. We got nobody to play there. Lee did a good job last week. We're just going to have to battle through it. Hopefully, we'll get Corey back (Sept. 18) for Wisconsin. I know Toa will be back next week. That's huge. We need those two guys."

Strong words

The Sun Devils rushed for 242 yards against Portland State. Junior left tackle Dan Knapp thinks that kind of performance could become habit.

"As a unit, I thought we did a great job," Knapp said.

"We put up 240 rushing yards. Granted, it was against Portland State, but I truly believe we can do that against any team in the country."

Knapp admitted to having some nerves before the game. After all, it wasn't only his first game of the season, but his first - ever - on the offensive line.